Adverts

I have chosen to do an instagram advert to promote my business. It's promoting an offer La Rochelle currently has on, all bralettes are buy one get one half price, the offer is also online only which promotes our online store. Customers can click on the post and instantly be taken to our website, which allows ease of access as they can be redirected instantly instead of having to go back to the website later. The picture I have chosen to use is a model dressed in our lingerie, the colour scheme is white/light colours which look quite modern and mature, which is what will attract my customers. The advert will also appear on peoples newsfeed as 'recommended', even if they don't follow our account, which will draw in new customers. 

I have chosen to use instagram as it's a popular application used by my target market, and it's quite versatile, most people have it on their phones and will browse it a few times a day. It's also a good place to post exclusive offers as customers are more likely to see them. 

Evaluation

I started off my project by doing research in to different fashion businesses, and looking at their websites and social media. I focused on lingerie brands as this is the type of business I would like to start if I was to start one. I recorded all the information on my blog, I found conducting research really useful as I gained an insight on how brands lay out their websites and social media differently depending on who their target market it is. I also learned the difference between marketting, branding and advertising and zoomed in on how different lingerie brands, advertise their products (e.g billboards, tv adverts), establish their branding (e.g. consistent packaging, logo), and use different marketting strategies (e.g. offers such as buy one get one free). This was useful as it gave me ideas for my own brand and how I will promote it.

My target market was women aged 24+ so I made a lot of my decisions based on what will attract my customers and appeal to them. I created a customer profile to outline what type of people will shop at La Rochelle. I did a lot of experimenting through out this project, I learned how to use Adobe Indesign, and used this to create my brand logo and and website design, as well as analyzing what i did and why. This was really helpful as I compared my different logo ideas, decided what was good and bad about each one before deciding what my final logo is going to be.

I also created some advert ideas, firstly I looked in to what types of advert there are, for example tv adverts, billboards, social media and emails. I decided to design and create to types of advert, magazine and instagram, and did some deeper research on how my competitors advertise through these platforms. Before creating my adverts I designed them on paper, this was very useful as I had an idea of what my advert will look like and whether it will be effective and fit the criteria it needs to attract my customers.

Overall I think I gained a lot of knowledge from this project, I have learned how different businesses work and what is needed to start your own business, this is useful knowledge as if I ever want to start my own business I will have some basic knowledge of what I need to do. I also think learning about why businesses do different things online and instore and how everything is based on attracting the customer was really useful as this is what makes your business successful, and allows it to bring in as much profit as it possibly can. I think the project went well and I enjoyed it however, one of my key areas to improve is time management, as I did find it quite difficult finishing the project on time.

My website

After I had chosen my brand logo, I was able to create a website design for La Rochelle, I also done this using Adobe Indesign.

 
This is the design I have chosen for my website. Straight away you can see it is a website aimed at women as I have stuck to my chosen colour scheme of light colours and pastels, specifically baby pinks and dusty blues. To make my website easy to navigate I have chosen to use drop down menus to allow customers to find what they are looking for, from my research I've seen that this is a very popular layout amongst lingerie websites. There are only 4 tabs, NEW IN! is the first tab as it shows all the new products being sold, I've chosen to make this subheading bold so it catches the customers eye as they will want to see what new products are available. The next 3 tabs are lingerie, swimwear and accesories, when the customer scrolls over these, they will be able to refine their search through a drop down menu.
The main image the customer will see when they go on the website, is a slide show of images of the famous English model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley advertising the bra and knickers sets we sell. My target market will recognise the model as she is known world wide and will be encouraged to buy similar lingerie sets so they can look like her. Also, alongside that I have advertised 3 different offers La Rochelle have on, one of them being a 20% off sale, and also free delivery and returns within 30 days. These are marketing strategies I have chosen, since the posts are one of the first things you see, the customer will know straight away that there are many offers available. I think the one that's most particularly effective is the free delivery, as many customers don't like paying delivery charges, therefore they'll be encouraged to shop the online store whilst the offer is still available, this will create an increase in sales.
Lastly the customer is also given the option to becoming a VIP member of La Rochelle, since I have not put any details of what becoming a VIP includes, it will make the customer more likely to click on the button to find out what perks they could be receiving if they become a VIP. Also, simply calling it a 'VIP members club' also attracts customers as it's an exclusive part of La Rochelle, and not everyone is part of it meaning they will be able to access deals and offers, that others can't, therefore the VIP customers will feel exclusive and special.

Overall, I like how my website turned out, I think by looking at it you can tell straight away the target market is women, aged 25+, and can also tell it's a lingerie store. The colour scheme and layout is really nice and organised and quite appealing to the eye, especially that of a womans. I think customers would find it very easy to navigate and find what they are looking for. If I was to change anything, I would perhaps feature a pop up when you enter the website offering a 10% discount when you subscribe to the La Rochelle newsletter.

Logo Ideas

My brand name is 'La Rochelle'. I have named my brand after a town in south west France, France is often associated with elegance and classiness which is what my brand is all about. It's also quite a feminine name to represent the type of products I will be selling.
I have used Adobe Indesign to come up with logo ideas by experimenting with different fonts and styles.

This is the first design I have created. I've chosen to use simple colours to make the logo look sleek. The font I have used is italic and swirly, making the logo look elegant and classy, this will draw in older customers as they are more likely to go for stylish traditional yet minimalistic writing rather than more childish colours such as hot pinks and blues. I quite like this design however I think it's too simple.

The second logo I've created, also has a similar italic font, this time I have used a gradient effect to make the writing fade out, in a way I think this may make the logo stand out less as it makes the writing less bold but I wanted to experiment with the effect anyway. Also this design doesn't represent femininity and class how I would like it to, looking at it I would not think this is a brand selling feminine products. 

This design is a lot more creative than the other two and I definitely think it would stand out the most, as it's something different. I chose to stick to minimal black and white colours however I have added a dusty pastel pink underline detail as I want to feature a lot of light colours within my brand, which adds that extra feminine touch. I also added a shadow to make the writing stand out from any other font on the page when it's placed on adverts and elsewhere. 

Out of the three designs I have created I'm going to choose this one, it stands out the most compared to the other two and I think it would appeal to my customers the most.

My Business Plan

Introduction
My business is called La Rochelle and specialises in Lingerie. The brand will be selling items such as knickers/bras, kimonos, baby dolls and teddies (silk gowns) and nightwear. The target market of La Rochelle consists of women aged 25 and over. I've decided I'm going to have an online store that delivers world wide alongside an app where you can order items straight from your phone, as well as stores in shopping centres such as Westfields and Bluewater.

Branding & Advertising 
I could use celebrity endorsement as a way of advertising my brand, I think a suitable celebrity for this would be Cheryl Cole, she is a known face that is recognised as good looking and many women would look up to her and will be interested in items she's advertising.
In the La Rochelle stores I want to show a very feminine and eye appealing environment, I would use a lot of light and pastel colours, and perhaps some floral prints, and would want elegant furniture such as cream leather sofas and silk padded coat hangers. I want a traditional layout where the under wear, specifically knickers and bras/bralettes are displayed in draws instead of on hangers. I want to create a feminine and elegant environment.
I am going to do a lot of advertising for my brand on social media, mostly Instagram, I'm going to create adverts that will show up on my target markets news feed, aswell as featuring on peoples 'Explore' page which showcases their suggested posts. Also, as a marketing strategy I'm going to draw customers in by featuring posts which let the customer know about offers, such as free deliver for a period of time, or buy one get one free. I would also like to create a targeted magazine advert, which will also inform customers of offers and could include discount codes/vouchers exclusive to that magazine.

Market Research
Some of my competitors will be brands such as Boux avenue, Ann summers and Victorias Secret. I looked some of their websites, and found that each website was very easy to navigate, all of them had drop down menus which was good as it made things very easy to find, each of the websites used feminine colours including pinks and golds, however some websites and the brands choice of branding looked like they appealed to more of a mature audience, for example Boux avenues logo, instagram and website all have much more lighter colours such as delicate pinks and pastels, where as Victorias secret feature bright pinks, golds and blacks which would appeal to a much more younger target market. On the Ann summers website and instagram, the first thing I saw was a massive advert, showing that there is a sale going on, this is something I'm going to show on my website as it's the first things customers see and makes them more likely to shop there.
I've also seen that in-store Boux Avenue have a 'traditional' layout, which consists of draws displaying bras and knickers, I really like how this looks and makes it easier to search through items so I will feature this in my stores.

Mission Statement

Client profile

Target market



This is Noelle Adams, she's 26 years old, and currently works as a full time beautician, she is quite experienced as she started training for this job at 18 and now here dream is to open her own beauty salon and expand around the country, due to her job Noelle cares a lot about taking care of herself in regards to her appearance, health and lifestyle. She earns a comfortable annual wage, and lives in her own one bedroom flat in Camden, North West London. She loves going out with her friends in her free time to clubs, bars and restaurants as she loves trying out new places to go and socialise and have fun, Noelle also enjoys going on shopping sprees and pampering herself with spray tans, nail appointments and other treatments to boost her already high confidence, due to her job and exciting life style she feels very comfortable with her current situation and can be described as a free spirit.

Competitors advertising, branding and marketing

Victorias Secret

This is a magazine advertisement promoting victorias secret. It features a model wearing VS underwear,

and also has a very consistent colour themes of cream/nude colours, which creates quite a relaxed yet elegant style. There is quite minimal writing and any font used is very simple and quite small so that the main focus is the main image. If I was used to use this type of advert I would use a popular, well recognised celebrity that is relevant to my target market, for example one of the kardashians. This is because if my customers see them wearing my brand they would want to wear it.



This is an example of Victorias Secret Packaging, i would say it's quite striking and very girly, everything is a shade of pink, inside the bags the items are wrapped in a pink tissue paper which makes it look more luxurious. As these bags are appealing to women they make them more likely to shop at Victorias Secret and even show off they have been shopping there through the bags. This is a good strategy that I could use for my own buisness, I would have to design appealing packaging that reflects my brand aswell as attracts the customers.

This is a promotional video released by Victorias Secret on their own youtube channel that shows the Vicrorias Secret angels signing a christmas song, this was released around the christmas season and all the angels are well known models that are recognized world wide. They're all dressed in christmas themed lingerie that is sold by VS around this season and will let their customers know that the christmas range is out. It not only appeals to women but to men aswell, as all the models look really good it will give them a good christmas present idea for their wives/girlfriends. For my buisness, I could use celebrity endorsement .

On the Victorias secret website, the first thing that pops up on the home page is a "Todays offers" tab. The tab boldly shows all the offers/sale Victorias secret has on at the moment, for example free delivery. This is a good marketing strategy as it's one of the first things the customer sees when they go on the site, and since things are on offer or there are certain deals, they're more likely to click on it and actually buy something. I will use this way of marketing on my brands website, as it's very effective. I could also display these kind of offers on the header of the brands facebook page or through an instagram post.

Fashion Business research

Lingerie


If I was to set up my own fashion business, I would be really interested in working with lingerie, this is because it requires a lot of intricate work, and I would really like working with all the different types of material and lace, and also designing pretty underwear.

I have researched to existing lingerie brands.

Victorias Secret

  


Victorias secret is an American designer, manufacturer and marketer of women's lingerie, it also has a range of womenswear and beauty products. It is the largest American retailer of womens lingerie.
Victorias secret have stores all around the world, mainly located in shopping centres, they currently have 1000 VS lingerie stores and 100 independent VS beauty stores in the US, and 14 stores through out the UK, however they also have a website where you are able to purchase there items online. VS are well known for their annual Victorias Secret fashion show sponsored by and featuring Victorias secret items, they use the show to promote and market their goods in high-profile settings. VS also have their own twitter and instagram accounts as social media is another way they promote new items and upcoming events, such as the fashion show, and different offers.

By looking on their website, you can see straight away its quite a simple layout that is easy to navigate. The first things you see are advertisements showing you what offers and deals they have going at the moment, which influences you because you will want to browse the sales and buy their items. The layout is mainly black and gold which is quite elegant, and also appropriate for the christmas season as they have a glitter font and as you scroll down the homepage they advertise their christmas collections. Similarly on their instagram, they also advertise offers found on the website aswell as images from their fashion shows.

Victorias secret has products ranging from bra/knickers sets, to night wear, aswell as kimonos, baby dolls (pictured above). Most of the products are priced over £20, which can be seen as quite pricey, however expected from a high street brand. They also often have well known offers such as 5 knickers for £20, or buy one get one free bralettes.

Boux Avenue

Boux avenue is a chain of lingerie stores based in the UK. It has 28 stores in the uk aswell as 12 international stores across 5 countries and is also available online and on mobile. Boux Avenue is owned by Theo Paphitis who is an entrepenaur and was also on Dragons Den.
The stores are known for their traditional layout where underwear is placed in drawers according to size instead of being placed on hangers. Similarly to VS, they also use social media such as twitter and instagram to promote new collections, and offers they have going, such as sales.

Similarly to the Victoria Secret, straight away I can see similarities in the lay out of Boux Avenues website. They have also used a theme of black and gold glitter, and also have offers, specifically for the day, which is 'cyber monday'. This website is also really easy to navigate, it has drop down menus and different sections for their products such as Lingerie, nightwear and swimwear.

Boux avenue have a really aesthetically appealing instagram page, everything is light pastel colours, and some images are also christmas theme. They use their instagram to post pictures appeling to their customers, aswell as reposting their customers instagram posts, which feature items brought from Boux. 

Their products also have a similar price range to Victorias Secret, with most things being atleast over £30. They also have a way to simplify your search, as there is a side bar which allows you to search by, size, colour and price range.


Footwear

The next buisness I'm going to be looking at is womens footwear.

Public Desire

Public desire is a womens footwear brand that is online only, the brand ships to all countries around the world from their distribution centre in the UK. Their base in Manchester has an extensive outreach within social media to fashion bloggers and instagram followers, therefore they claim to bring the latest styles. Public are also known for having quite affordable prices for good quality products. 

Public desire are online only therefore they mainly use their website, online blog and instagram to communicate with customers. The website has a really simple layout, that's easy to use. It's sectioned off and each part has a drop down option to help refine your search. Again, just like the other websites I have looked at one of the first things you see is a massive advert showing you there is a sale, this make you want to browse the site and possibly buy items. Their Instagram is used for a similar purpose, to promote offers, show new products and connect with their followers through funny posts. 

Public desire have a huge variety of footwear, from party heels to knee high boots. On their home page they are currently advertising boots with the title 'booty call'. Customers are more likely to click on this as it's winter and they will be shopping for winter shoes. Looking at the prices, they are really reasonable, most shoes are £30 or over which is actually quite good for womens footwear that is good quality.

Just Fab 





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3D Fashion

Iris Van Herpen 


Iris van Herpen's "between the lines" collection focused on the gaps and sections between materials making up garments. Looking at the designs you can see they are based on optical illusion patterns that have been distorted to create a 3D shape. The last design of the 3 I have included, is made up of loads of little 3D cast shapes to resemble broken glass. I think Iris' designs look quite high tech and futuristic and I think this was one of her inspirations for this collection. I really like the first design, as it's made out of 3D hand casted transparent leather, and resembles shards of ice, as well as having a frosty effect.

Textile Designers

William Morris

  

William Morris was an English Textile designer known for his repeat pattern wallpaper prints. Looking at his images I've noticed he uses a lot of floral and nature patterns, such as trees and birds. He uses a lot of colour, however all the colour looks quite vintage. All the print joins together perfectly and will be continuous through out. I think this print is suitable for it's purpose as, straight away, you can tell it would be used on a wall paper or for interior design, therefore I don't think this style of print would be suitable for my jacket.

Alexander Mcqueen

Alexander McQueen was a British Fashion Designer. He is known for having worked as chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001, aswell as having found his own label. The prints I have looked at are from his 2010 collection, they are repeat patterns that resemble butterfly wings which is what he was inspired by (Nature and evolution). I like the way he has taken a section of the pattern and created a dress, this makes it more likely to be unique. This could inspire me to create one big repeat pattern, and then take a piece of it and put it on my deconstructed jacket, or even create a sleeve/collar out of it.

Cath Kidston 

  

Cath Kidston is a Birtish brand specialising in homeware and bags/purses. From researching the brand I noticed straight away all of their products stand out and have a consistent theme of floral patterns and pastel colours, especially pink and blues. I really like the designs by Cath Kidston as they are very girly and dainty. The prints are featured on homeware, bags/purses and small trinkets. I would feature a print similar to this one on a product, if it was designed for females.